Judge rules against background checks

Judges Purpose in Seeing Giffords Could Be Legally Significant
Was U.S. District Court Judge John M. Roll just being sociable when he dropped by an appearance by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) in Tucson on Saturday, or was he planning to discuss official business? Does it even matter, given the horror of that morning? Yes, it could matter, legally speaking. At first glance, Roll’s state of mind might appear irrelevant, given the tragedy that unfolded on Saturday morning, when Roll was shot dead and Giffords gravely wounded in a rampage that killed ...

BCS game holds moment of silence before start
The BCS championship held a pregame moment of silence for Victims of the weekend Assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson. The tribute came during ceremonies shortly before kickoff of the game between Oregon and Auburn on Monday night. Names of the six Victims were read and Giffords was acknowledged before the moment of silence, which preceded a choir singing "God Bless America." Giffords was shot in the head in an attack outside a Grocery Store that left six people dead and 14...

Will Marshall: Tucson: The Real Questions
We at The Progressive Policy Institute are heartsick over the senseless attack Saturday on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, which also claimed the lives of six people, including a nine-year-old girl. Not only is Gabby our friend, she is an exemplar of the pragmatic progressivism that puts country before party. We pray for her recovery, and grieve for those who will never recover from this rampage. As if this tragedy were not bad enough, some pundits have disgraced themselves by using it to score polit...

Suspect in Arizona Shooting Held Without Bail
PHOENIX— The nation got its first look on Monday at the 22-year-old loner accused of trying to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Jared Loughner, head shaved, a cut above the right temple and his hands cuffed, scanned a packed courtroom and sat down. His attorney, who defended Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, whispered to him. The judge asked Loughner if he understood that he could get life in Prison — or the death penalty — for ...

Arizona shooting suspect appears in court
PHOENIX, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A federal magistrate in Phoenix Monday ordered the man accused of shooting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and 19 others during the weekend held without bond. Jared Loughner, dressed in a tan detention uniform and shackled, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Lawrence Anderson, who appointed federal public defender Judy Clark as Loughner's attorney, The Arizona Republic reported. Anderson ordered Loughner held without bond, the Arizona Daily Star reported. Loughner is acc...

Suspect in Arizona shooting held without bail
PHOENIX (AP) — The nation got its first look on Monday at the 22-year-old loner accused of trying to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Jared Loughner, head shaved, a cut above the right temple and his hands cuffed, scanned a packed courtroom and sat down. His attorney, who defended Oklahoma City bomber Timothy Mcveigh and “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, whispered to him. The judge asked Loughner if he understood that he could get life in Prison — or the death penalty —...

Jared Loughner Appears In Court, Giffords 'Still Fighting' (LIVE UPDATES)
PHOENIX — The nation got its first look on Monday at the 22-year-old loner accused of trying to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Jared Loughner, head shaved, a cut above the right temple and his hands cuffed, scanned a packed courtroom and sat down. His attorney, who defended Oklahoma City bomber Timothy Mcveigh and "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, whispered to him. (SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE UPDATES) The judge asked Loughner if he understood that he could get life in Prison - or the death pen...

Tucson Shooting Suspect Loughner Held Without Bail
Jared Lee Loughner's mugshot The suspect in the Saturday shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and many others, which left six dead, appeared in court today. Jared Lee Loughner, 20, was held without bail and apparently smirked in court. His mugshot was also released, and it showed the young man with a big smile. Giffords was apparently the target of the shooting outside a Safeway in Tucson, AZ, where she was holding a constituent event. Among of those who died were Federal Judge John Roll and G...

Text of the So-Called "Assault Weapons Ban" That Liberal Journalists Can't Seem to Find or Understand
Consider this a public service (HTML) (PDF). TITLE XI--FIREARMS Subtitle A--Assault Weapons SEC. 110101. SHORT TITLE. This subtitle may be cited as the `Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act'. SEC. 110102. RESTRICTION ON MANUFACTURE, TRANSFER, AND POSSESSION OF CERTAIN SEMIAUTOMATIC ASSAULT WEAPONS. (a) RESTRICTION- Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: `(v)(1) It shall be unlawful for a person to manuf...

Tucson shooting and the predictable Congressional response begins
It’s ironic that when you look up the definition of “knee-jerk” on Merriam Webster, they use “knee-jerk liberals” as an example of usage of the term. It’s proven true once again as the Tucson shooting, starring an idiot acting out his “conscience dreams” using a gun, brings the Gun Control freaks out of their closets with their Morality banners held high. Congress… who’ll take any advantage of a crisis or tragedy to exerciser power or ...

Department of Homeland Security advises members of Congress on dealing with `active shooter'
This report was written by Stewart Powell of the Washington bureau. In the wake of the mass casualty shooting in Tucson that killed six and wounded 14 including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., the Department of Homeland Security is distributing guidance to members of Congress on how to respond to an "active shooter." Official photo Rep. Gabrielle Giffords The 13-page primer urges lawmakers and congressional Staffers to be alert to surroundings, aware of the two nearest exits ...

McCarthy, Lautenberg seek to ban high-capacity ammo magazines
Source: NBC/MSNBC Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., with the backing of Gun Control groups, are drafting a bill that would ban the sale of high-capacity magazines such as the one that was used allegedly Saturday by Jared Lee Loughner, the man accused of murdering Federal Judge John Roll and trying to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., according to two Gun Control Activists working with McCarthy's staff. Gun control proponents are hoping to move rapidly ...

Heroic Giffords Intern Could Be Asked For Papers Under Arizona Immigration Law
WASHINGTON -- When a gunman attacked Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and others on Saturday, 20-year-old intern Daniel Hernandez ran toward the shots to try to save those who were injured. He stopped to check pulses on several Victims before finding Giffords, who had been shot in the head. Hernandez applied pressure to the wound, holding his boss of five days until his clothes were soaked with her blood. Hernandez, trained as a nursing assistant, lifted her head so that she wouldn't choke on...

Suspect in Arizona shootings appears in court
By David Schwartz PHOENIX, Arizona | Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:42pm EST PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) - A troubled 22-year-old College Dropout made his first court appearance on Monday on five federal charges, including the attempted Assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who remained in critical condition with a bullet wound to the head. His hands manacled together, Jared Lee Loughner said understood the charges against him that stem from a Shooting Spree in Tucson on Saturday that left s...

Suspect in Arizona shootings appears in court
By David Schwartz PHOENIX, Arizona | Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:42pm EST PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) - A troubled 22-year-old College Dropout made his first court appearance on Monday on five federal charges, including the attempted Assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who remained in critical condition with a bullet wound to the head. His hands manacled together, Jared Lee Loughner said understood the charges against him that stem from a Shooting Spree in Tucson on Saturday that left s...

Suspect in Arizona shootings appears in court
PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) - A troubled 22-year-old College Dropout made his first court appearance on Monday on five federal charges, including the attempted Assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who remained in critical condition with a bullet wound to the head. His hands manacled together, Jared Lee Loughner said understood the charges against him that stem from a Shooting Spree in Tucson on Saturday that left six people dead and 14 others wounded at an event Giffords hosted fo...

After Giffords shooting, Palin aide says crosshairs really surveyor marks
An aide to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said on a conservative radio program Sunday that last year’s much-maligned ads by Palin’s PAC showing rifle crosshairs over 20 Democratic Congressional Districts - including Gabrielle Giffords’s CD8 in Arizona - were actually meant to represent surveyor’s symbols on a map. Local politicians responded to the Saturday shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and others in Arizona. Giffords survived the shoo...

Gun-friendly laws made Arizona shootings possible, Brady Center president tells Raw
Stumble This! The president of the Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence told Raw Story that excessively permissive Gun Laws are a culprit in the tragic shootings of 20 people in Tucson, Ariz. Saturday. Among those shot by 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner were Federal Judge John Roll, who was killed, and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who was critically wounded. The gun Loughner used was lawfully purchased, The Associated Press reported. "Apparently everyone who knew him lately describes him as v...

Serial Elderly Rape Suspect Caught
EDNA, Texas - A state Prison employee who records show has worked for a home Health Care agency is suspected of being a serial rapist accused of targeting older women in Texas after he was caught fleeing an elderly woman's home, authorities said Sunday. Billy Joe Harris, 53, was taken into Custody early Saturday morning after Edna police responded to a medical emergency alert from an elderly woman, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a news release. DPS officials said police saw Harris...

Conservatives tough on crime agenda is bad policy
With Crime Rates falling, building new Prisons is an expense this country doesn't need. The Conservatives unveiled the latest phase of their federal prison building boom Monday, as government MPs fanned out to announce 634 new beds will be built at Prisons in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec, at a cost of $158-million. The main reason for the Explosion in prison building is the government’s tough on crime agenda, including the abolition of the two-for-one pre-trial custody credit,...

Suspect in Texas serial rapes is prison employee
EDNA, Texas (AP) — A man suspected of raping several older women in central and southeast Texas is a Prison employee who once worked for a home Health Care agency, authorities say. Billy Joe Harris, 53, was taken into Custody early Saturday morning after Edna police responded to a medical emergency alert from an elderly woman, the Texas Department of Public Safety said in a news release. DPS officials said police saw Harris running from the woman’s home and arrested him after a short...

Loughner Conviction Could Come Down To Why Judge Was At Giffords Event
Whether Jared Lee Loughner is convicted federally of killing Federal Judge John McCarthy Roll could come down simply to why he showed up to Saturday's event with Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). In the Criminal Complaint filed against Jared Lee Loughner, the FBI is building the case that U.S District Court Judge John Roll attended Rep. Gabrielle Giffords "Congress on your Corner" not by chance or on a social visit, but for official government business. So why does Roll's reason for attending t...

Fox News: But What Does Mary Jo Buttafuoco Think Of The Arizona Shooting?
Unless you’ve spent every single waking moment since Saturday under a rock, you’ll know that the news has been dominated by the shooting outside a Tucson, Arizona Safeway Supermarket which resulted in six people dead (including John Roll , chief judge for the U.S. District Court for Arizona) and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the Hospital. New news about the shooting - and shooter Jared Loughner - has been steadily streaming across news tickers on every major news ch...

With rare change in schedule, Supreme Court observes moment of silence
Washington (CNN) - The Supreme Court interrupted its public session Monday to mark the nationwide moment of silence in memory of the Victims of Saturday's Mass Shooting in Arizona that left a Federal Judge dead and a congresswoman seriously wounded. Chief Justice John Roberts and his eight colleagues paused on the bench after hearing their first oral argument. Roberts had opened the session by saying, "That senseless shooting on Saturday caused devastating injury to persons who all, in their own...

The Tragedy of the Arizona Shooting
The Tragedy of the Arizona Shooting Monday, 01/10/2011 - 1:47 pm by Mike Konczal | Post a Comment There are many ways to look at it, but all say disturbing things about the country. This weekend’s tragic shooting at a Safeway district meeting in which United States Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was seriously hurt and a dozen more injured and a District Court judge John Roll, a nine-year-old girl born on September 11th, and a congressional aide were killed has left us all stunned. Her...